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review : Kicho Aroha Glow CC Cushion

It's been a while since I did a review for bntnews, so I was very curious what they would send me this time! I was so excited when I saw the Kicho Aroha Glow CC Cushion* inside my bntbox! I was first introduced to Kicho through bntgirls, and since then I've loved every product I've tried from the brand so far. This CC cushion is a fairly new product from Kicho – before this, they'd only ever released skincare products, which is why I'm very excited to see if their makeup is just as good! Let's find out! :)

KICHO AROHA GLOW CC CUSHION

What is it? Kicho claims: "A nourishing and hydrating cushion compact with Lanolin and deep sea water that provides flawless healthy resilience. " This cushion also claims to help brighten skin and at the same time protect it from UV rays.

I don't have much experience with CC creams, and this CC cushion is a first. I think of CC creams as something you'd want if you only need brightening or evening out skin tone. As someone who needs more coverage, I've always stayed away from CC anything. I'm very curious to see just how flawless this cushion can make my skin appear!

PACKAGING

As usual, Kicho's packaging game is strong with this one! With the exception of the Kicho Ultra Moisturizing Sun Cream, whose packaging had a very minimalist design, I've kept the boxes of all the Kicho products I've used before. And it looks like I'll be doing the same with this one! The Aroha Glow CC Cushion's box features a pink and white motif with flower illustrations. I thought the flower on the box was a rose at first, but realized it was actually a peony after finding out that Paeonia Albiflora was one of the major ingredients. Upon opening the box, you'll see even more flower illustrations, with the cushion case in the middle.

The cushion case itself is also very pretty. It has the same white and pink color as the box, with silver details. I like that it's not too big and fits nicely in my makeup pouch. As with all cushions, the case comes with an attached mirror, a protective lid, and a puff.

The puff included is very soft and dispenses the product onto the skin well. Although I'm not sure if it's made of rubycell, simply because it isn't the usual blue color. Rubycell material is antibacterial, so it's the ideal material for puffs.

MAJOR INGREDIENTS

According to Kicho, the four major ingredients of this CC cushion are Paeonia Albiflora flower extract, lanolin, rosewater, and black ginseng. Here's some info on what these ingredients can do for your skin:

Lanolin – Substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Because lanolin is very similar to the sebum produced by our own skin, it is used in skincare products for its soothing, moisturizing, and moisture-retention properties.

Rosewater – An antioxidant-rich ingredient that also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Black ginseng (Panax Ginseng Root Extract) – Black ginseng is produced by repeated steaming at high temperatures, upon which the product becomes black in color and becomes more potent than white and red ginseng. The particular ginseng root used here, which is panax ginseng root, is used to promote wound healing, stimulate collagen production, and fade discoloration. Has some photoprotective/antioxidant properties. Good for: wrinkles, dry skin.

Most of the info above was taken from r/AsianBeauty. Full ingredients list and COSDNA analysis here.

COLOR

The Aroha Glow CC Cushion is available in 2 shades – #21 Bright Beige and #23 Natural Beige. The one I got is #21. My skin tone is medium-light, so I usually stick to the #23 shade for Korean base makeup. Most of the time though, even #23 is still too light for me. And as expected, #21 Bright Beige didn't match my skin at all. It was too light and left a visible white cast, most likely because of the SPF. The shade #23 Natural Beige probably would've been a slightly better match for my skin tone.

FORMULA

The formula of this cushion was such a mystery to me! It feels matte upon application, but it didn't look matte at all when I applied it. In fact, my face looked like it was glowing! I only realized why when looked at the swatch on my arm when I was indoors – this CC cushion has shimmers in it. So that's why it's called the Glow CC Cushion. The formula will literally make you glow.

This can be a good or a bad thing depending on your preference. If you like using an illuminator or a luminizing primer with your foundation, you'll like this a lot. If not, then this is not for you. I know most people with enlarged pores and/or pockmarks prefer to stay away from illuminators because it makes the problem areas more visible. I personally like the whole healthy glowy Korean makeup look, plus I find that illuminators make my skin look 10x better in photos, so I quite like it.

Upon application. As you can see, my face is WAY lighter than my neck. This cushion has pretty decent coverage, but because the shade is way too light, it made my darker acne scars look greyish rather than cover them completely.

COVERAGE

The Kicho Aroha Glow CC Cushion has buildable medium to full coverage. Since it's a CC cushion, I wasn't expecting much in the coverage department. I was really surprised by the coverage. Because of the shade, this can't completely hide my undereye circles and darker acne marks, but it covers redness and evens out skin tone well. Good enough, in my opinion! If you have any dry patches though, they might be even more visible because of the way this product sits on the skin upon initial application, so be sure to exfoliate and moisturize well beforehand.

After letting it set. The color's blended into my skin SLIGHTLY. Even after letting it sit on my skin for a few minutes, #21 Bright Beige is still too light for my skin. But check out how luminous it made my skin!! Like Camera360's Glow filter in real life! My only issue is that the illuminator-like formula made my pores and deep scars look more visible. It's not that noticeable from afar though, and a primer like Innisfree's No Sebum Blur Primer can help with that (I didn't apply primer here because I was lazy heh).

LASTING POWER

I used it without primer, and it lasted for about 5 hours before it started fading. I have oily-dehydrated skin, with my nose and forehead becoming oiliest first. After 5 hours this cushion started breaking down on the sides of my nose. What I like about it though, is that the formula wears better throughout the day.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Before anything else, let me just say that it's not easy to come to a conclusion for this product because the shade that I got didn't match me at all. If I'd gotten #23, which I'm assuming is closer to my skin tone, I could probably have a better judgement of this product. The coverage would have been good, but because it's way too light for me, my darker acne scars still look visible even at full coverage. I have a lot of darker acne scars that I'd like to cover up, and this didn't work for me in that regard. For me, using this on its own is out of the question. However, I do like its illuminating properties a lot. I find that I like it more when worn as a makeup base rather than on its own, underneath my usual foundation.

(UPDATE 06/25/17: I found this review of the cushion in #23 by a Korean blogger on Naver, and judging by the swatches, I feel like #23 would've been too light for my skin as well. Still, the difference wouldn't have been as stark as with #21.)

With the Aroha Glow CC Cushion being Kicho's first foray into makeup, it's not bad at all. I realize the reason that they came out with an illuminating type of base is because Kicho, as a brand, focuses on things that are good for the skin. This cushion makes your skin look very healthy and radiant. The glowy finish might not be everyone's cup of tea though; hopefully Kicho comes out with a wider variety of makeup products in the future!

Kicho isn't locally available in the Philippines, but you can purchase this product directly from their global site here for $30.61. For international readers, you can find a list of stores that carry Kicho products outside of Korea here.

DISCLAIMER: This product was sent to me by bntnews International for review, but the opinions expressed here are 100% my own. Financial compensation was not received for this post. Please see my full disclaimer for more information.

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